Eukrites
mainly consist of pyroxene and plagioklas. Due to spectral features of its
pyroxene, Millbillillie has been considered to be stemming from Vesta. Vesta is
the geologically most diverse asteroid, 535km across; it is easy to observe with
binoculars. Vesta was probably smelted by radioactive decay heat, so that more
than 4 billion years ago lava surfaced and solidified into the
"basalt" (SiO2-poor magmatic types of rock) that Millbillillie
consists of. Under this basaltic crust, there is the olivine-bearing mantle,
which lies bare due to major impacts, as can be seen on the geochemical map
which was developed from images obtained through the Hubble space telescope and
infrared observations of ESA. Chunks chipped off by such impacts may have been
thrown onto new orbits, which cross the earth's orbits, and indeed in three such
"earth crossers", 1983 RD, 1980 PA and 1985 DO2, excellent spectral
correspondences with the lab spectra of eucrites and a high similarity to the
reflection behaviour of Vesta was found.

The
fall of Millbillillie was witnessed on a day in October 1960, at noon, the day,
however was forgotten, and the meteorite not searched for. It wasn't until 1970
that the first piece was discovered. 13$/g.

Well
here's some piece for the collector of historic falls! The fall of this eucrite
(cf. Millbillillie for information on the origin of eucrites) occurred at a time
when the idea of meteorites indeed being stones from space was gaining ground (Chladni,
1794, des shower of L'Aigle, 1803).

Johann
Peter Hebel, the sovereign master of the German calendar story, known to every
German schoolchild from their primer, albeit without the author's name in his "Schatzkästlein
des Rheinischen Hausfreundes" (german)
relates a detailed account of the fall. 65$/g.

Partslice
ca. 1.9cm x 1.3cm x 0.4cm1.6g$104Sold

Tatahouine

Diogenites
contain 90% pyroxene and, like the related eucrites, have had a magmatic
genesis. In contrast to these, they are calcium-poor (<3% CaO) and typically
their colour is green. Due to their equal isotope proportions, howardites (these
are breccias of diogenites and eucrites), eucrites and diogenites are usually
subsumed into the so-called HED group. All these achondrites are supposed to
have come from the same mother body, Vesta (cf. Millbillillie).

During
the fall, the meteorite burst into thousands of tiny little stones, which rained
down onto an area of some 500m across. There are hardly any pieces heavier than
10g, which means that for Tatahouine, exceptionally, the opposite of the general
rule applies: here, large pieces are comparatively more expensive than smaller
ones. Diogenites are rare, basically only Tatahouine and the more expensive
Johnstown are permanently present on the market.